Robert Hall

Today--- a '79 Lincoln Versailles in tan w/ a padded top and aftermarket continental kit, wire wheel hubcaps on wide whitewalls. Haven't seen one of these in ages. a GMC Avalanche---a black 1st gen Chevy Avalanche with a GMC front clip.

QUOTE (CARBIZ @ Oct 25 2008, 07:01 AM) Well, you'd better take a chill pill because I'd venture to say that about half the population doesn't know anything more about cars than how to turn the ignition key. Once upon a time, when I was a car valet in a luxury hotel, quite a few people (mostly women, I have to say) could tell me little more about their car than what color it was and how many doors it had. When you work in the car business, you get stupid people remarks about cars all the time. You learn to shrug it off. Yeah, it's one of those things I realized long ago is that most people don't have the same level of interest in cars as I do..to most people, the details of their car are obscure as the details of the washer or dryer. Yet I know lots of people that can tell me lots of detail about the specs of their cell phone, computer, their TV, their home theatre components, etc yet seem to know little about their car beyond the brand name and year...I run into a few car enthusiasts now and then, but they usually are very brand-specific in their interest and knowledge, rather than a broad interest car geek..

Well, it costs money to set up displays at the auto show, to ship prototypes there, etc....sounds like they are delaying those expenses in the short term..

Yes...but as a creationist, she doesn't believe in genetics (or any form of science, I suspect).

QUOTE (Sixty8panther @ Oct 24 2008, 06:02 PM) Plenty of German cars sold in the USA have rear fog lights. Almost all Audis from the past two decades have rear fog lights, Porsche, my Mercedes has 'em, as did our old 123. Hmm...I've seen some European cars with them separate, but on my sister's W126 and W124 they must be integrated into the taillight clusters. I'll have to read the manual and see how to activate 'em.

QUOTE (ocnblu @ Oct 24 2008, 04:28 PM) It's always amusing to see a European car from behind in foglamp weather... with one taillamp much brighter than the other... it actually took me a while to realize it was the rear foglamp, working as designed. Yeah... I remember wondering what up with that years ago. Another interesting feature on European cars (at least the Mercs I know) is the left or right parking lights setting (parking lights turn on on one side only).

Ya...I meant for OZ....does GM have an Vectra version in OZ currently? Wasn't sure if Holden had an Epsilon model..

Given the way GM is going, I wouldn't be surprised if the next gen Commodore isn't FWD...GM could probably justify doing a RHD version of the W-body Impala for Holden or something Epsilon II based.

A scenario where the Grand Cherokee gets the TB's straight 6 could be interesting.... a V6 just seems out of place in a Jeep, IMHO...

QUOTE (MikeyMo84 @ Oct 23 2008, 09:18 PM) same here....i get the "is that the new sunfire?" line a lot Well, I guess if they hadn't moved Pontiac to alphanumeric names, it would likely have been badged as a Sunfire..

On another forum people were speculating that the Charger and Challenger would be badged as Pontiacs, the Chrysler 300 as a Buick.

Interesting... I've been told I look like a cross between George Costanza and Tony Soprano. Though I think I look more like Michael Chiklis.

My sister would probably find you hot...she likes dark, hairy, fit Italianesque men...her last BF was a South African management consultant of Italian ancestry. Her first husband was of Italian ancestry (a Western PA boy), and rocked a big '70s mustache.. Her current lust object is a 6'4" gay German American consultant that she's trying to turn straight...her coworkers call her a Cougar since he's about 10 years younger.

QUOTE (66Stang @ Oct 23 2008, 06:52 PM) I just fit, but have to put the top down when I auto-cross because I don't fit with a crash helmet on. Steve, one of my Miata club friends fits in a Miata fine with a crash helmet, and he is 6'4. I still can'[t figure THAT one out. Chris I'm 6'0", 225, and was probably 50 lbs lighter when I drove the Miata..it just seemed very tight to me..probably could have adjusted the seat more. I've ridden in a couple of ht and conv. TTs---I found them claustrophobic--couldn't see very well out the side windows. A couple of sports cars I've driven that I fit in quite well are an Acura NSX (seat all the way back, my head touches the roof slightly) and the 993 era Porsche 911...I love the visibility out of 911s..great greenhouse.

QUOTE (66Stang @ Oct 23 2008, 06:47 PM) I pulled up at work in my Miata, and I am not a small guy. Joe, my co worker called out "hell, that looks like an elephant riding a gnat! Chris I drove an early Miata once with the top up. It was painful.. I'm too big. Though I fit perfectly in a Boxster.

QUOTE (Paolino @ Oct 23 2008, 05:06 PM) The Health Department Chairperson (who's also a friend) came out to my car and said, "Love the color! What is that, patina?" (referring to the poor paint job/rust) At one point, my Bronco was 4 colors.... it was originally gold and brown two-tone... unfortunately, 7 years of Ohio/Michigan/Illinois winters took it's toll, and it started rusting around the rockers and fender arches. I trowled on bondo and sprayed gray and red primer over the rust spots. By 2000, it looked rough (only had 92k miles when I traded it on the GC).

QUOTE (Satty @ Oct 23 2008, 04:20 PM) I was talking with the VP of my division on the way out to the parking lot today, we stopped by my car. He watched me unlock it then said, "I know you took a paycut, but I thought we paid you better than this." I had a moment like that back in the Spring of 2000, when my boss--the VP of technology of the startup I was at-- saw the rusty '88 Bronco II I was driving then, and said something to the effect 'I thought we paid you better than this'. Later he also asked if I was paid too much when he saw my '96 BMW M3 and '87 Mustang GT that I also had at the time. Same guy, a few months later, on the first day I drove my then-new '00 Grand Cherokee to work (traded the Bronco II on it around my 30th birthday), made a comment that to the effect that 'some of us are more superficial than others'...(i.e. I had bought into the whole Colorado SUV-driving outdoorsy image)-- flash forward a couple months later--he had just bought his humble new Prius then, and described it as 'the geekiest car he could find'. Hiliarious.

Yes...I love the Onion... Dollar Bill on Floor Sends Wall Street Into Frenzy

Agreed..it was more substantial than the first 2, IMHO. The VP debate was just painful to watch.

Speaking of a world gone mad, the headline on last week's Onion newspaper sums it up well: Bush Calls for Panic And by the way, WMJ's avatar is so perfect for these times.... OMG! ONOZ! CHAOS! AUGGGGGHHHH!

I'm really liking commuting in a 20+ yr old Merc 500SEL.... it's got the intimidation factor with the massive grille. 4800lb of German engineering. Smooth, quiet, comfy, huge sunroof, feels as safe as driving a bank vault. The only negative is the lack of cupholders and no remote for the locks.

Well, 4/7th of their models are slight rebadges currently, so the trend is definitely there...

I'm sure the W will live on for another decade or so with the Impala.

I assume it's part of the Pontiac phase out... concentrate on fleetable FWD generics, and slowly wind down the brand.

Not a surprise at all... Avis is content with FWD models, so that's what GM will give 'em...